Ensilage blower



Nov. 5, 1946.. E. F. HUDDLE ENSILAGE BLOWER Filed March 22. .1944

`2' Sheets-Sheet 1 Tall. 1

Npv. 5, 1946. E. F. HUDDLE ENSILAGE BLOWER SSheGtS-Sheet 2 Filed March 22, 1944 No'v. 5, 1946. E. F. HUDDLE ENSILAGE BLOWER Filed Maron 22. 19'44 :s sheets-sheet s Patented Nov..` 5, 1946 ENSILAGE BLOWER Edwin F. Huddle, Elmwood Park, Ill., assigner to International Harvester Company,

tion of New Jersey Application March 22, 194:4, Serial No. 527,663

. 4 Claims. E s This invention relates to a new and improved ensilage blower and has for one of its principal objects the provision of `means for feeding ensilage to a blower.

Heretofore, ensilage blowers have usually employed some type of feed conveyer positioned at right angles to a plane described by the path of a blower fan. The particular conveyer employed was generally of the auger or wormtype.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to employ a feed conveyer which lies parallel to the path of blower fan travel.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a novel feed device for ensilage blowers which tends to prevent congestion of the ensilage as it is fed into a blower'.

Another and still further important object `of this invention is to provide a leveling auger for ensilage blowers cooperating with a regular feed conveye;` in order that the amount of ensilage fed to the blower remains substantially constant regardless of the amount of ensilage thrown into the feed hopper.4

Other and further important objects of the present invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the ensilage blower of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the ensilage vester as shown in Figures l and 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line i-d of Figure 2.

As shown in the drawings: y

The reference numeral i@ indicates generally a chassis or frame work on which is mounted the ensilage blower of this invention. The frame Ill is supported at its rear end by a wlieel truck II, having a pair of wheels I2 at its forward end and by a leg I3 at its rear end. The leg I3 gives stability to the support of the ensilage blower. The leg I3 is reinforced by the link Iii. A foot or clevis I3 is provided at the lower end of the leg i3 and when it is desired to transport the ensilage blower, the clevis I6 acts as the hitch or attaching member to the draw-bar of a tractor or other draft vehicle.

The ensilage blower consists of a fan Il and a feeding means. The feeding means includes an auger I8 for carrying ensilage to the fan whereupon it is blown upwardly through the nozzle i9 and by means of pipe (not shown) is fed to the top of a silo or other storage receptacle. The fan Il is positioned within a housing 2li which is supported directly on the wheel truck II as shown at 2l.

As previously stated, ensilage has formerly been fed to the blower fan Il by a conveyor (Cl. 30H7) traveling in axial alinement with the fan axis shaft 22. In the instantensilage blower, the feed auger l@ lies parallel to a plane described by the path of travel of the fan I'I. Or, in other words,

vthe auger I8 is at right angles to the fan shaft 22. The auger I8 is mounted within a housing 23,

the upper portion of which is expanded to form a hopper 26 which has a large openingv 25. A 10 cut-ofi bar 25' extends the length of the hopper edges of the flight 3l of the auger I8. This cutod contributes to the successful feeding of the auger. The housing 23 is joined to the fan hous-l ing 2li by means of an elbow-like conduit 26 which is best shown in Figure 2.

In operation, ensilage is put into the hopper 2t through its large opening 25 whereupon the auger it, rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow 2l, carries the ensilage to the end of the 2o housing 23, whereupon the non-journaled or the open end 2@ of the auger I8 drops the ensilage' into the conduit 26 where it, falls bygravity and suction created by the fan I'I down thefinclined outer wall 2E of this elbow-like conduit 26 and thence into the fan housing through the opening 3d. The ensilage is then picked up by the fan il, rotating in a clockwise direction as view- Y ing the device in Figure 1, and thrown upwardly through the nozzle i9. 'I'he open end 2@ of the auger Id means that the auger is unsupported at its discharge end and permits continuous'forcing of ensilage through that end Without any obstruction. It has been found from experience that in filling the hopper 26 relatively uniformly and with the auger constantly carrying ensilage to its opened end, shown at 28, that that end of the hopper becomes heaped high with ensilage, whereupon the air supply for the fan I'I is cut ofi. The fan depends upon receiving a supply of air `from the hopper opening and if that is completely clogged with ensilage the effect of the fan Il in throwing the ensilage or hay will be nil.

In order to effect a remedy for this congestion 45 of ensilage at the feed end ofthe auger, an auxiliary auger 3l! is positioned above the main 4feed auger It and projects outwardly from the end 3l of the hopper 2li. The augers I 8 and 3d are adapted to feed in exactly opposite directions as 50 indicated by the arrows 32 and 33. I'he direction of rotation of the smaller auxiliary auger is indicated by the arrow 34. The auxiliary auger 30V has an open end 35 at a point substantially midway between the end walls of the hopper 2t. It will now be seen that any portion of ensilage that is thrown in near the end 3| of the hopper 2d will be forcefully conveyed to the middle area of the hopper 24 bythe auxiliary auger 30, whereupon it will be permitted to drop into the ilight 36 of the main feed auger I8 and is placed closely adjacentthe peripheralV lary auger 30 of the hopper 215. The auxiliary auger 3B acts as a shear or`wiping device for the main feed auger i8, and thereby limits the amount of ensilage which can be discharged to the opened end 28 ofthe auger i8.

The auger i3 is journally supported in a substantially long bearing 38 to compensate for the non-supported open end 28. The small auxiliary open end auger 3B is journally supported in bearings 39 and 4i).

Any suitable source of power may be employed in operating the fan l1 and the open end angers i8 and 30. As shown 'in the drawings, the power is secured from a tractor power take-on through a pulley ill. The pulley lll is adapted to directly drive the fan shaft 22. The direction of rotation of the pulley dl and the shaft 22 is indicated by the arrow 62. A worm d3 is keyed or otherwise fastened to the shaft 22 and, as shown in Fig. 2, is in continuous driving relation with a worm gear 44 which is fastened to a shaft 59. The use of a worm and gear supplies the necessary proportionate reduction in the speed of rotation of the angers with respect to fan speed. Theshaft 49 is .iournallyl supported in a bearing l at one end. Thebearing 5l is held in position by means of strut members 52 mounted rigidly with respect to the frame l0, housing 23 and unitary hopper 24. l A sprocket 53 is keyed to one end of the driving shaft 4S and imparts movement to the chain 54 wrapped therearound. The other end of the chain 5d surrounds a sprocket 55 keyed or otherwise fastened to an extension of the `auger shaft i8. lThe auger I8 will,

therefore, rotate in arrow 21.

A V-belt pulley 60 'is' mounted on the other end of the drive shaft 591 journaled at one end in a bearing 58 and at its shaft I9 by a universal joint 59'. A crossed V- belt 6I between the V-belt pulleys 6l! and 62 the .direction indicated by the imparts drive from pulley S0 to pulley 62. This of the auxilpulley 62 is fastened to a shaft 30"" and is given `rotation, the direcis indicated by the arrow 36. The will be driven in a clockwise Figure l and as shown by tion of which fan l1, of co'urse, direction as viewed in the arrow 42.

It will be4 apparent that herein is provided a novel and efliciently operating ensilage blower which automatically levels the ensilage in a feed hopper and preventslcongestion of the ensilage being fed to the fan a d resultant machine failaccompany an ensilage ures which ,ordinarily therefore, is to limit the appended blower. The intention, invention only .within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is: 1.- An ensilage feeder comprising an elongated hopper, a main auger positioned in and extend= length of the bottom of said hoping the entire per andadapted to feed material longitudinally that the auger may carryA ond auxiliary auger above the main auger having end terminating substantially centrally of the main auger and adapted to feed material in an opposite direction, whereby excess ensilage in the upper portion of the hopper is carried by the auxiliary augerraway from the discharge opening and then permitted to drop to a lower level in the hopper and isthen carried toward the discharge opening by the main auger,

an unjournaled thereby preventing congestion at thedischarge opening.

2. An ensilage blower including a pair of parallel housings, a transverse conduit intermediate of and adjoining said housings at the end of oneof the housings and centrally of the other of said housings for passage of ensilage from one housing to the other, a hopper for the one an auger journaled for rotation on a longitudinal axis within the one housing, said auger having an unjournaled end terminating adjacent the transverse conduit, a fan journaled for rotation in the other of said housings in a path parallel to said longitudinal auger axis, and lmeans in the one housing for carrying excess vensilage from the transverse conduit to the center of the housing'. whereby ensilage housing to the other without congestion.

3. An ensilage blower including a pair of parallel housings', a transverse conduit adjoining an end of one of said housings and the approximate center of the other of said housings for communication of material is transmitted' from the one housing,

from one housing to the other, 4

i a hopper for one of said housings, an auger jour- Y l naled for rotation within the one housing, said auger having an unjournaled end terminating adjacent the transverse conduitand adapted to other end it joins the feed ensilage to said transverse conduit, an auxiliai-y auger journaled for rotation above the rstnamed auger and extending from a point adjacent the transverse conduit to an unjournaled end thereof terminating intermediate the ends of the nrst lauger and adapted to feed excess ensilage in a direction opposite to said rst-named auger, and a fan journaled for rotation in the other of said housings in a path parallel to the flrst-named auger in the one the other without congestion.

4. An ensilage blower including a pairof parallel housings, a transverse conduit adjoining said housings for passage of enslage fromone housing to the other, a hopper for one. of said housingaan auger journaled for rotation within said one housing, said auger'having an uniournaled end terminating adjacent the transverse conduit for feeding ensilage thereto, an auxiliary auger journaled for rotation above the firstlnamed auger and extending froma point adiacent. the transverse'conduitto an uniournaled end thereof terminating intermediate `,the ends of the nrst auger, means orrotating and causing said augers'to feedv in opposite" directions, and a fan journaled for rotation in the other of said housings, whereby ensilage is transmitted from the one housing to the other vhousing without congestion.

nnwrn r'. Honour.

housing, whereby the one housing toy 

